I love my mom.
One of the biggest reasons is the fact that when I was growing up she understood privacy and alone time. This was the time I really wanted to learn new stuff without feeling like Iรขโฌโขm supposed to รขโฌลparticipateรขโฌย with the rest of the family. Basically, she understood when I wanted to dip away to my room for a few hours reading a book, looking up facts online, or talking to my friends around the world.
I feel like Iรขโฌโขd be half the person I am today if my mom hadnรขโฌโขt given me that freedom.
As I age, I understand her concerns.
If I were a parent then Iรขโฌโขd be concerned about what my child was doing when they were connecting to the web but then again รขโฌโ the trust I received from my mom helped to guide me in the right direction when I was using technology.
I was the type that got an early start with computers.
My parents bought me one of the top-of-the-line computers back in the 90s and because of it I am who I am today. My career and much of my interests have focused around computing and I can honestly say that itรขโฌโขs been a wonderful experience in terms of finance and having a direction.
But hereรขโฌโขs what Iรขโฌโขve noticed รขโฌยฆ
There are a lot of parents, especially moms, who want to get too overprotective about their children using the Internet or other applications. They seem to get this idea that because their kid is engrossed with an iPad or Android app they suddenly arenรขโฌโขt being รขโฌลa good childรขโฌย รขโฌโ as if youรขโฌโขre supposed to be outside, playing with sticks, and getting muddy.
Times have changed.
When I was growing up I wanted nothing to do with going outside, because it was boring.
This wasnรขโฌโขt because I couldnรขโฌโขt find anything to do รขโฌโ but because you have to look at the choices:
รยทรย Sit outside and try to come up with your own games
รยทรย Be on the computer (or a gadget), which lets you do anything
If I was outside, it meant I couldnรขโฌโขt talk with people from around the world. I couldnรขโฌโขt learn new things by using the web for research. I couldnรขโฌโขt play games that improved my hand-eye coordination.
Times have changed, as Iรขโฌโขve said, and itรขโฌโขs a good thing because a child playing with gadgets like an iPad or a smart phone is learning the necessary skills for the evolving job market later in life.
So this brings me to my point รขโฌยฆ
You have trust that your child is doing the right thing when it comes to using technology.
More than likely, they understand it better than you do. However, you should have some sort of control over it all since youรขโฌโขre the parent.
This might include:
รยทรย Using some form of virus/privacy protection for their Android tablet or phone.
รยทรย Putting a lock on the ability to purchase apps on iOS devices.
รยทรย Setting time limits to how long they can visit certain websites.
รยทรย Filtering specific words to prevent them from accessing particular information/websites.
Technology is an amazing thing, really.
Your child will learn more from digging around the Internet than most of the time theyรขโฌโขll spend in school. Sometimes itรขโฌโขs not what you want them to see but it helps them mature and that, ultimately, is a good thing as long as you can help them understand the context รขโฌโ like a good parent.
Ultimately, your child needs you to step back, for once, and allow for their creativity to flourish. The web lets you do that. They have all the tools and resources to explore their imagination and, if you get too involved,รย youรขโฌโขre going to put that to a halt.
Itรขโฌโขs important to monitor and ensure theyรขโฌโขre on the right track but put some faith รขโฌโ and trust รขโฌโ into their usage of technology. Thatรขโฌโขs all Iรขโฌโขm saying, as someone that has been there before.
